An Extra Heart
by Rebeccaseal
Summary: After nine years, Chihiro finally made it back to the spirit world. But she accidentally took a friend with her. Can she return her friend to the human world when all she wants to do is stay there? And can she ever be with Haku if they're not even the same race?
1. A Door Through the River

_But I can't go any farther. Just go back through the way you came; you'll be fine. But you have to promise not to look back. Not until you've passed the tunnel._

I stared at the painting on the wall, wishing with all my heart it was real.

_What about you? What'll you do?_ Pointless worry. Of course he had an answer.

_Don't worry. I'll go back and have a talk with Yubaba, and tell her I'm going to quit being her apprentice._

What about me? What was I supposed to do? But I'd said nothing. And he hadn't asked anyway.

_I'm fine; I got my name back._

And all I had to bring back was memories.

_Will we meet again sometime?_ Pointless hope.

_Sure we will._

Only in dreams we will.

_Promise? _I'd asked.

_Promise_.

I still waited for him to keep it.

_Now go. Don't look back._

I had never looked back, not once. Not until everything was too far gone to be brought back. To say I'd learned regret at an early age was an understatement.

The painting hanging on my wall taunted me. A white dragon swam in a river, the sunlight refracting off his scales. I almost wanted to throw the picture away it was so painful, but every time I thought about it, I couldn't bring myself to do it. After all, I had created it.

_Weakling_, my brain said. But my heart told a different story, of courage in the face of unending separation.

_Shut up_, I told it. Sometimes I wished I had looked back, even if it had meant being stuck in the spirit world. At least then I would've been happy.

_Haku, why am I like this?_

I stared at the painting. The white dragon swam in a river, green eyes brightly flashing and drawing me in. As I focused on him, the dragon gazed back at me with sad eyes.

"I have to go to school now, Haku," I told the painting reluctantly, careful not to be too loud. I didn't want my roommate to hear. "I'll be back soon. Don't worry. I promise."

As usual, the dragon said nothing.

Standing and stretching, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out of the dorm.

Since I lived in a dorm, I didn't have far to walk to get to classes. However, the only class I really looked forward to was art. I specialized in painting mythical creatures, for some bizarre reason. No one else understood why, but I knew it had something to do with a certain spirit world that had screwed up my entire life.

"Hey, Chihiro!" my friend, Masuka, called. She ran over, ponytail bouncing and eyes bright.

"Hi, Masuka," I greeted, wondering briefly why she was so happy.

"Guess what!" she squealed, jumping up and down.

"What?"

"I calculated, and you'll have enough money to support yourself for five years if you continue working in that tea shop! But you'd have more money if you sold your work and made me your financial manager," she informed me, waggling her eyebrows. Masuka had been bugging me to sell my art for the past few months, but I wanted to finish my degree first.

The tea shop had been a miraculous discovery for me. The owner, a wise old man named Izen, paid me well and had been the first to commission something from me. Every day he would get up early and dust off all his paintings and scrolls. He had quite the collection of old art hanging in his tea shop. If he sold it all, it would probably be worth several hundred thousand dollars.

What I really liked about his shop, though, was that the art he collected tended to feature mythological creatures. And he didn't mind me just sitting there quietly. He wasn't like the people at college, always chattering and loud and insensitive. It was better than the therapy I'd suffered.

"Earth to Chihiro!" Masuka exclaimed, waving a hand in front of my face. "What do you think?"

"You're amazing and I'm too lazy to do the math?" I guessed.

"Well, besides that," Masuka said, rolling her eyes. "The tea shop is nice and all, but you should branch out."

"I told you, Masuka, I'm not going to sell my art until after college," I repeated patiently. "I need to get to class."

"You're no fun," she retorted, but fell silent anyway.

We parted ways when I reached the arts building. Masuka was a business major, but aside from that, I didn't really know what she did. Something that had to do with managing money. Boring.

I stepped inside the class and was immediately bombarded by greetings.

"Hey, Chihiro!"

"Morning!"

"Did you finish that—er, hi! Did you finish that—"

"Shut up, she doesn't want to talk about that!"

"Yeah, who wants to talk about homework?"

I smiled at my friends' antics. "Hi."

"That's it?" a black-haired woman, Li, asked. "We smother you in greetings and you just say 'hi'? What kind of person does that?"

"She does," said a guy with a British accent, Henry, and the Union Jack all over his shirt. "Li, she does that every morning," he remarked, running a hand through his long blond hair just to mess it up.

"Whatever. Anyways, did you finish your painting?"

"Finished mine," Henry interrupted.

"Wasn't talking to you, idiot," Li snapped, glaring at him.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" he asked, mock offended.

"You."

"Well. I thought you liked me!" he exclaimed, pouting.

"Only when you're not being a total dou—"

"Yes, I finished it," I said loudly, "and stop being annoying, Henry. Li's touchy enough without you teasing her."

"I resent that remark," Li told me, flipping her hair.

"You have all of class to work on your projects," the professor interjected. "Get to work."

We all complied, turning to whatever project we were working on.

I'd already finished mine, so I sat there, absentmindedly doodling.

"Whatcha drawing?" Li whispered, peering over my shoulder.

"I don't know." I looked down and saw a dragon wrapped around a little girl. Me. "Nothing in particular."

"You really have a skill for drawing dragons," she commented. "But you only ever draw that one. Why?"

I shrugged. "He's the only one I ever see."

"See? Like in your head?"

"Sure." But it really was because Haku was the only dragon I'd ever seen. Naturally, no one knew because if I told them, they'd think I was crazy and put me in a mental hospital.

Li shrugged and commented, "I think you should try other stuff. Just to see if you're good at it. I mean, no offense, but dragons are kind of old and weird."

"Maybe." Had humans always been this insensitive?

"I'm soooo hungry," Li complained, rubbing her stomach.

"Don't you ever think of anything besides your stomach?" Henry asked, sighing.

"No," I answered. "Almost never."

We ate at the cafeteria because it was close and Henry offered to go to his place to study for finals when I remembered I'd left my brushes in class.

"I'll be right back," I told them.

Henry eyed Li, neither of them looking very comfortable.

"Behave, children," I teased.

But when I came back, they were making out against the car, looking very comfortable with each other.

I cleared my throat, crossing my arms and smiling to myself.

They jumped apart, both blushing.

"I . . ." Li started, gesturing wildly. "We . . . er. . . ."

"Get in the car," I ordered. "I'm driving. Both of you in the backseat."

So they got in the car and I turned up the radio to try to drown out the sound of their kissing. I think they thought I would be jealous, but it just made me miss Haku with an almost physical pain.

Come back to me, Haku.

"Everyone out," I said when we reached Henry's house. He shared it with his brother, but his brother was usually at his girlfriend's house.

We reached the front door and I unlocked it with Henry's keys, went to the living room, and plopped down onto the couch.

"Explain," I ordered, glaring at both of them.

"I didn't—"

"We didn't—"

"How long?" I asked, deciding to help them out.

"We've been dating for almost two weeks," Li confessed.

"Two weeks?!" I shrieked, jumping up. They both flinched, so I sat back down. "You've been dating for two weeks and you didn't tell me?"

"We didn't know if you'd be mad," Henry explained.

"Why would I be mad?" I asked, completely bewildered.

Li stared at me, but Henry looked rather uncomfortable.

"Well, everyone thinks you kind of have a thing for Henry," Li whispered, averting her eyes.

No, the only person I had a thing for definitely was not Henry. That person wasn't even human.

"Are you kidding?" I asked, laughing. "No offense, Henry, but you're like a brother to me. And you're not my type."

"None taken," Henry reassured me, sitting in an armchair with a sigh. Li perched on the arm and began playing with Henry's blond hair.

"I just can't believe you didn't tell me," I reminded them, a little bit hurt.

"We weren't sure how you'd react," Li explained. "We didn't want to hurt you."

"Right." Seeing the two of them together was wonderful, but now I just wanted a certain white dragon to rescue me.

"I'm gonna go," I said suddenly, standing up.

"Why?" Henry asked, frowning.

"Stuff to do," I lied, but really I didn't want to be there when they were all couple-y.

"Oh. Well, call me and we'll talk," Li ordered, sliding off the arm of her chair onto Henry's lap.

I nodded, and walked as fast as I could out of there without looking like I wanted to get out. I loved both of them and hoped they were happy, but I needed to do some moping and reflect on what had become of my life.

I was jealous of Li and Henry. Jealous that they were at least in the same world as each other. How did I know Haku hadn't forgotten about me and gone off with some female spirit?

When I got home, I went straight to the bedroom I shared with my roommate, Sylvia. Thankfully, Sylvia wasn't home and probably wouldn't come home until early in the morning. She was the type of girl who partied all night and recovered from hangovers all day. She always had at least one man, if not more, and I'd even known her to bring home women. We didn't exactly see eye-to-eye, but we tolerated each other.

I flopped onto my bed and stared at Haku's painting, taking my hair out of its customary ponytail. I'd painted it when I was fourteen, and it showed. The style was slightly different than what I did now, but I'd captured Haku perfectly. For some reason, sometimes it seemed like I was actually talking to him, but I knew that was impossible. I'd even tried going to Haku's river to talk to him, but to no avail.

_Where are you, Haku? Why won't you talk to me? Have you forgotten me already?_

I sighed and fingered my purple hair tie.

* * *

><p>Haku sighed. Chihiro was talking to that damned painting again.<p>

_Where are you, Haku? Why won't you talk to me? Have you forgotten me already?_

"No, Chihiro. I could never forget you," he told her even though she couldn't hear him. Sometimes he wished she'd never painted it. It killed him to hear her begging and pleading for him to come back without being able to answer. But sometimes, he liked hearing about her even though it tore his heart and made him wish he could be there with her.

He had no idea how she'd managed to make the painting magical, but he suspected it had something to do with the hair tie Zeniba had given her.

"I'll come for you. Just a bit longer."

* * *

><p>I blinked. What time was it? I'd cried myself to sleep yet again, and—crap! It was almost six in the morning! I was going to be late. Thankfully, it was Saturday, which meant no classes, just homework, but I had a ritual to attend to. Every month I would go to Haku's river and try to talk to him. I always went at high tide, so that more of him would hear me, and if I didn't hurry, the tide would go down soon.<p>

I quickly got dressed and grabbed a piece of toast on my way out the door. Sylvia was asleep in her bed, probably nursing a hangover, so she had no idea I even went out in the mornings. I liked it that way because then I didn't have to answer any questions.

By the time I got to the river, it was six thirty. High tide was almost over, but I still had about twenty minutes. Most of the river was underground, but this part went above. This was the part I'd fallen into.

I parked the car and got out. Walking to the bank of the river, I sat and kicked off my shoes and socks. I tipped my toes in the water and leaned back, closing my eyes.

"Li and Henry are dating now," I rambled to the river. "I'm happy for them. They probably won't spend much time with me anymore, though. And Masuka still wants me to sell my stuff, maybe get a gallery. I don't know about that. I'm happy with the tea shop. Sometimes I wonder if Sylvia is happy the way she is. Staying out late doing who-knows-what with whomever catches her fancy. Drinking and smoking and other things. And yet she hasn't failed college. I don't even know what she's majoring in since we never see each other.

"Where are you, Haku?" I asked quietly. "Why have I had to wait so long? Maybe you think I still have time, that it hasn't been long, but remember, I'm human. I only have about seventy years left, and then . . . I'll be gone. Maybe you've forgotten. Or don't care anymore. People change, I suppose, though it doesn't make much sense for a spirit to change that much because nothing in the spirit world seems to change much. I don't think you'd forget intentionally. You're not the type to break promises, I don't think. Or maybe you are. I guess I don't really know you. Or anyone.

"Come back to me, Haku," I implored, bowing my head. The grass sparkled with dew and the lake refracted the sun's early rays. "Take me back to the spirit world. It's where I'm meant to be. I guess I should go now. Goodbye. I'll see you in a month. I miss you."

* * *

><p>Far away in the spirit world, Haku listened to Chihiro plead for him to come back. He gripped his chopsticks so hard they snapped.<p>

"Haku! That's the sixth pair this week!" Rin exclaimed. "If you break any more, Yubaba might charge you for them."

Haku didn't bother to respond. He simply sat on the floor, wishing he wasn't so helpless. He'd do all he could so next time he could get her.

* * *

><p>But there wasn't a next time. Time in the spirit world mirrored that in the human world, but a month came and went with not a glimpse of Chihiro.<p>

Haku was even more agitated than usual. He spent his days pacing the bath house, brooding, and generally doing nothing for the business, despite Yubaba's constant reprimands.

Maybe she's given up or forgotten, he thought. Maybe I'm too late. Maybe she's . . . gone. What short lives humans have, always in danger of dying.

And so Haku dreaded the next month, for he could only take so much pain.

* * *

><p>Sighing, I smiled up at Sylvia. "Thank you so much for taking care of me," I told her.<p>

"No problem," she said, shrugging. It had been quite a surprise when I'd become sick, and she'd started taking care of me. Apparently, Sylvia was majoring in internal medicines, and she was fairly close to getting her MD. Sylvia, the woman who drank too much, smoked, and partied all night and morning every day. Although, she said she'd stopped smoking and didn't drink as much anymore. School was catching up to her.

As for me, I was much better now. I just worried about Haku. If he heard me every month, would he know that I'd missed this month? Would he even care?

Those thoughts swirled in my head all through the next month, until it was time to visit Haku's river again.

I made the drive to the river and parked in the same spot as always. But this time, Masuka was with me. I'd told her this was where I got my inspiration for my art, and she'd insisted on coming along. I'd tried to stop her, but it's hard to prevent someone from doing something when you can't explain the reason behind it. I wouldn't be able to talk to the river, but maybe I could think to it.

We got out and I walked to the bank. But this time, I didn't take my shoes off and dip my feet in. I had a vague feeling of finality, one that was probably because Masuka had been here now. It would never again be just my river.

"It's beautiful," Masuka breathed.

"Yes," I replied, but I wasn't talking about the river. In my mind's eye, the sunlight bounced off the water and reflected me, ten years old, and Haku as a dragon standing together. Ten year old me hugged Haku's neck, and the image faded away.

"I can see why you come here," Masuka commented. "But what's that?" She pointed at a wooden door in the side of the bank, across the river.

I frowned. "I don't know." I'd never seen it before, and I'd studied every bit of this river and drawn it hundreds of times.

Masuka walked towards the bridge. "Let's go see," she said, walking across. I followed, curious despite myself. For some reason, the door reminded me of the boiler room door at the bath house.

We walked across the bridge and down the bank.

"Why don't we take a peek?" Masuka suggested.

"I don't know. . ." I hesitated, not sure if going through a strange door was a good idea.

"Oh, come on, it'll only be a moment," she replied, putting a hand on the door knob and turning. The door swung open without a creak, but I couldn't see anything inside.

"Masuka, are you sure—" I began, but Masuka had already stepped inside. Sighing, I followed her inside.

The interior was dark, but there seemed to be a light, almost like a fire. As we stepped forward, I could see pipes and the edge of a wall. It looked oddly familiar, like something from a dream. A strange dream, in which soot came to life and parents turned into pigs and. . . . This couldn't be possible. To think that after years of waiting at rivers and going back to the gate Masuka would be the one to get through?

A startled shriek interrupted my thoughts.

"What do you want?" a familiar voice barked.

"You–you're not human," Masuka gasped, then collapsed.

I crept forward, and blinked in surprise. Kamaji, the boiler man, sat in his usual spot, working just as he always had.

"How did a human get in here?" Kamaji muttered to himself.

"Kamaji?" I dared, half hoping he'd remember me and half hoping he wouldn't.

"Who is it and what do you—another human?! When did we get so popular?" Kamaji demanded, turning to face me.

"It's me," I said. "Chihiro. I mean, Sen. I've come back."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: 12/22/15 Update**

**I've entered in the Inkitt contest, hence the editing. Please review! Reviews are worth 10x the favorites and follows!**


	2. Haku

Kamaji stared at me for a while. The he broke into a grin, the fire's light reflecting off his glasses. The soot balls all squeaked and stopped working, then one by one dropped their coal on top of themselves.

"Get back to work, you lazy things!" Kamaji roared at the soot balls. They all jumped up and went back to work while Kamaji said, "My granddaughter. You've come back."

"I missed you so much!" I cried, running forward and flinging my arms around him in a move that surprised us both. Naturally, it was rather awkward with Kamaji's many arms and legs, and soon I was wrapped in a cocoon of them.

"How did you get in?" Kamaji asked, confusion evident in his voice.

I thought about a moment before replying, "I have no idea. I just . . . the boiler room door was in the side of the river, so. . . ."

Kamaji raised his brows but said nothing. "Anyways, why did you bring another human? One is enough."

"I didn't mean to," I said, grimacing. "But she wandered in here, so I couldn't do much about it. I should probably wake her up and get some foo—"

The door to the rest of the bath house slid open and Rin crawled out.

"Hey, Kamaji. Morning, Sen. What's that awful smell?" She asked, looking half asleep. "Kamaji, I keep telling you to leave your old bowls out!" Then, "Sen?!"

I braced myself for the inevitable suffocating hug, and sure enough, Rin didn't disappoint.

"Oh my gosh you're here when did you get here why are you here don't you know it's dangerous for humans wow you stink!" Rin exclaimed all in one breath.

Just then, Masuka decided to make her presence known with a loud gasp, apparently having recovered from her faint while Rin was suffocating me.

Immediately, Rin pushed me behind her. "Who are you? What are you doing here? This is no place for humans!" Them she wrinkled her nose. "Wow, you stink even worse than Sen! I didn't think that was possible! You should get out of here before—"

"—Yubaba finds her?" I guessed.

"Actually, before Haku finds her," Rin explained.

"Why would Haku get mad?" I asked, utterly confused.

Rin leaned closer. "Lately, he's been more moody, and you know what that means. Haku, the robot drill sergeant. Sometimes he's even worse than Yubaba!"

I was still confused, though. "Why would Haku still be here?"

Rin's eyes widened. "He didn't tell you? Wait, no, he couldn't have. Well, anyways, Yubaba was different after you left. Sometimes she'd be nicer than usual. After awhile, she announced that Haku would inherit the bath house once she was gone. Everyone was surprised, even Haku. So, he still has to be here to learn to do what Yubaba does. But he's not under her control anymore."

"But you don't have your name back?" I asked.

Rin smiled sadly and confirmed, "No. It's okay, though. The pay has gotten better, and it's safe here. Yubaba wouldn't want to be short-staffed."

"Wh-who are you?" Masuka gasped.

"Sen's best friend!" Rin replied, eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Masuka glared at her. "_Chihiro's_ best friend!"

Rin laughed suddenly. "Sorry, Sen. I always forget your real name is Chihiro."

Masuka snapped, "What kind of friend are you if you don't even know her name?"

"It's not my fault Yubaba stole her name and changed it to Sen!" Rin retorted.

"What?"

"Stop!" I interrupted. "Masuka doesn't know!"

Rin's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"Rin, in the human world—well, people don't know about spirits," I explained. "They'd think I'm crazy if I told them."

She blinked. "Really? That's stupid."

"You haven't changed a bit, Rin."

"And you've changed too much," Rin sighed.

"I'm really confused right now," Masuka complained. "How come you never told me about . . . this? Spirits?"

I smiled wryly. "Would you really have believed me? That one day my dad drove us into the woods, got us lost, and ended up in the spirit world? My parents turned into pigs for eating food they weren't supposed to eat, and I got a job working in a bath house run by a witch. I met a dragon river spirit and helped the witch's twin sister. I stopped a monster from eating spirits and, once turning my parents back, went back to the human world forever, or so I thought."

Masuka blinked. "Oh. That is a bit hard to believe. I'm assuming this is the bath house?"

I nodded. "It looks exactly the same."

"No one changes in the spirit world, Sen," Rin reminded me. "The only thing that's changed is you. And you've changed us. You didn't think we'd forgotten you, did you?"

I flushed and answered, "Well, I wasn't here for very long. And I couldn't have changed that much."

"Sen! Of course we'd remember you! You're the only human to have wandered in here and gotten in a job! The other humans die or leave or something."

"Pleasant," I muttered. "Anyways, Masuka and I need some food. And I assume we can't leave the way we came?"

Kamaji grinned. "That door only goes to the stairs. I think you're stuck here for awhile."

Rin nodded happily. "I'll have to tell Zeniba! Of course, knowing her, she'll already know. And maybe we'll have a party! Ooooh, I can already see it! Tons of roasted newt!"

Laughing, I took Masuka by the hand and drag her towards the door to the rest of the bath house.

* * *

><p>From his office on the top floor, Haku watched the scene in the boiler room play out. Disappointed, he slashed through the image, destroying it. Chihiro hadn't been the one to bring his name up. She hadn't even said much about him or asked to see him. What if she hated him? Why hadn't he gone to see her sooner? What if she had another man in her life? During her visits to the river and when talking to the painting, she hadn't said anything about her love life. All she'd asked was for him to come and bring her back. And even that had slowed in the recent years.<p>

He couldn't wait to meet her again. Was she really happy to be back? He knew bringing that other human back would be annoying, but Chihiro was here. Nine years without seeing Chihiro was too long.

Haku rose from his chair. "I'm coming, Chihiro."

* * *

><p>I showed Masuka the bath house and told her all about my trip to the spirit world and trying to turn my parents back. Unsurprisingly, the bath house had changed very little. Surprisingly, everyone remembered me. Even the grumpy foreman.<p>

The only people I didn't see were Yubaba and Haku. I didn't want to have Masuka along when I saw them again. She was already having enough trouble as it was coming to terms with the fact that the spirit world was real. So I dumped her on Rin and headed to the elevator.

Walking up to the Yubaba's office door, I took a deep breath to collect my thoughts. How could I stay here if I didn't have a job? I hadn't talked to Rin about this because I knew she would object, but I kind of wanted my job back. Last time, I would've stayed if I hadn't had to save my parents. This time, I had no such obligation. Even though I'd wanted to finish college, spirits didn't really care about degrees, did they? Did they even have schools?

"Don't just stand there!" the doorknocker snapped. The door opened as I reached up to grab it and I ran through, remembering how I was dragged before.

The halls, the doors, everything looked exactly the same as before. And as I came to Yubaba's office, I saw that it looked the same. There were still the three heads, Yu-bird, and the door to Boh's room.

"Well, I guess you aren't the puny little girl you used to be," Yubaba remarked from her desk.

I smiled wryly and replied, "And you aren't the unforgiving, cantankerous witch you used to be."

"Who are you calling cantankerous?" she snapped. "I was very nice back then. Anyways, why are you here? Come to get your job back?"

Nodding, I walked forward until I stood at her desk. "This time I won't be so obedient, though. I will remember my name no matter what."

For a moment, Yubaba looked shocked. Then she cackled. "You've turned into a fine young woman! Although, I don't steal names anymore. Too much trouble."

Surprised, I asked, "Then why don't you give back everyone else's name?"

Yubaba sighed. "I put all the names in a library and now the library's a mess. If you want, you can sort it out, but I'm not paying you." She handed me a contract and a pen. I signed my name after rereading the contract several times. The stipulations were better than I remembered.

"You start work tomorrow morning. Rin will show you to your room, but you'll need to see Haku for your food so you don't disappear," Yubaba pointed out.

I looked down and almost shrieked. "I didn't even notice!" I was almost completely transparent. And Masuka! She'd be freaking out.

"Thanks for the job, Yubaba!" I called as I dashed out of her office.

As I ran, I wondered why I had to see _Haku_ for food. Couldn't I just go to the kitchen? Or did he spell the onigiri when he gave it to me? Maybe magic from this world helped to bind me to it?

"Masuka!" I called as I peered into the kitchen. And found her eating ramen with Rin. "There you are!"

Masuka looked up, completely solid. "Rin gave me some food 'cause I was starting to disappear. You need some food, too."

Breathing hard, I gasped, "But Yubaba said I needed to see Haku for food. How come you don't have to?"

"Haku was the first one to bind you to this world," Rin explained. "Your soul only responds to his magic, now." She had a funny expression, as if she had just swallowed too bitter tea. "You need to face the past, Sen."

"I told you, it's Chihiro!" Masuka exclaimed.

"It's okay, Masuka," I reassured her. "I like Sen."

"Whatever."

"Go," Rin ordered. "And remember that whatever happens, Haku was still the first person you met."

I nodded, unsure of what she meant, but unwilling to disappear. I rushed along but stopped. Where was Haku? Did he have an office?

Some unseen force took over, moving my limbs as if they weren't my own. I went up, through elevators and random staircases I didn't know existed. Eventually, I stopped before ornate wood double doors. I found that my body was my own. Hesitating, I reached forward to push the doors open, but yanked my hand back. Why was I nervous all of a sudden? I'd never been nervous seeing Haku before. _You also aren't ten anymore_, replied a voice in my head. Gathering my courage, I leaned forward and gave the two doors a push. It wasn't a hard push, but the doors immediately swung inward, revealing a very oriental room. It appeared empty, but a fire crackled in the fireplace, the glass sliding door to the balcony sat partially open. Creeping forward, I noted all the bamboo, glass, and wood. Not a single piece of metal tarnished the room. While plenty of precious gems sat in various places, no gold or silver was anywhere. No steel, iron, or copper. On the polished bamboo desk in the middle of the room sat only a jade vase. No flowers, just the vase. All together, it was very different from Yubaba's office. And the large balcony probably made take-offs and landings easier in dragon form.

I knelt in front of the large desk, deciding to wait for Haku. I wanted to know what lay behind the door behind his desk, but I also didn't want to seem rude.

"Stand up," commanded a startlingly cold voice from behind me. Haku. Closing my eyes, I mentally prepared myself for the little boy he'd been before rising and turning around.

And turning away as fast as I could. I'd seen his face, the small surprise and the expression of hurt in the overall coldness as I spun away. But he wasn't the same person I'd known nine years ago. Taller than me, he still wore the same greenish shoulder-length hair, but had broader shoulders and a black kimono with a white obi. Different, yet the same. Still the same face, with his expressive green eyes. _But I feel like I hardly know him_. Why did he grow up? Why did he grow when everyone else seemed the same?

"You're disappearing," he observed, and I cursed myself for forgetting. "Have some onigiri."

Too bad I couldn't ignore him, but staying aloof while disappearing was harder than it seemed. And I couldn't cure it on my own. So I faced him and accepted the onigiri.

"Thank you," I said quietly. I ate quickly, gratified to be solid again. Glancing at Haku again, I was the struck by how he'd changed . . . for the better. He was tall, handsome, wealthy (or going to be), and completely unattainable. Just what every girl wanted. Apparently that included me as well, for even at ten I'd lo—

"Why are you staring at me?" Haku interrupted, jolting me from my thoughts. And it was a good thing, too, because I disliked the direction my thoughts were going.

However, his question didn't quite garner an answer. Instead of denying the statement, I turned away and walked to the balcony doors.

"Who put the door there?" I inquired.

"Aren't you happy?" Haku asked, standing behind me, his breath stirring my hair. "I didn't break my promise."

Rage filled me and tears started to form. "What are you, an idiot?" I snapped, spinning around and shoving him away. "I waited _nine_ freaking years! Do you know how long that is in the life span of a human? I only have seventy years left if I'm lucky!" Angrily dashing away my tears, I continued. "You just stand there, ignorantly, thinking I'd be better off going back to the human world, but you don't understand."

Surprised, Haku protested, "I haven't said a word!"

"Predictable," I spat. "Everyone in this damn place wants me to go back. Sure they're happy to see me now, but don't think I don't know what'll happen. It's 'where I belong' or some other crap like that."

Haku sighed and tried anyway. "You were born there for a reason, Chihiro." My name on his lips was soft and welcoming, contradicting his words. "If you were meant to be here, why are you human? Why did you leave? We could've wiped your parents' memories and make them think they had no daughter. If you'd wanted to stay, why didn't you?" The last part rough, Haku had shut down his face again, but an anguished gleam remained in his eyes.

"How could I?" I demanded. "Just abandon them after all the trouble I went through? Then I'd be better off if I'd left them as pigs and let you eat them!"

Now Haku smiled. "That's why you should leave. Don't abandon your parents." But his voice was slightly strangled, almost like Rin's when she had told me to find Haku.

"Do you want me to or not?!" I screamed in frustration. "Don't go telling me to leave and then sounding like you want me to stay!"

"I do want you to stay," Haku replied softly, catching my hands and pulling me towards him. "I want you to stay forever with me and never think about leaving. But it's for your own good that you need to leave. A human in the spirit world would never survive. You have friends in the human world. Henry and Li. And you need to take Masuka back."

"You heard me?" I breathed. I hadn't known he'd listened when I went to the river.

"And that painting," Haku complained. "That damn painting drove me crazy all the time because it made me want to steal you away in the middle of the night."

"Why didn't you?" I asked. "I would've gone with you." A thought occurred to me. "So you heard me beg for you to come back every month and you heard me talk to the painting?"

Haku nodded.

I jerked my hands away from his. "And you didn't fulfill your promise until nine years later, when I started to doubt whether or not you were real! Do you know what I had to endure?" When he only looked at me with sad eyes, I went on. "After I came back to the human world, I started drawing you and everyone else. My parents wanted to know where I got the ideas, so I told them. They thought I was crazy and assumed it was some dream or imaginary world. Then I told the kids at school, who never really liked me anyway, and they completely ignored me after that. 'That weird girl with the ponytail' I was called up until high school. Then I transferred, but I knew no one would believe me if I told them. And even worse, my parents started giving me therapy and medication since they thought I was insane! There was no one that cared about me. People just wanted to lock me up and pretend I didn't exist."

Haku gathered me up in his arms squeezed me tight. "I'm sorry. If I'd known, I would've come sooner," he whispered, "but you never told me any of that. You only asked for me to come back."

"I didn't want to worry you," I explained bitterly. "In case you could actually hear me, of course. But I guess it didn't really make a difference."

"Forgive me, Chihiro," Haku begged. "I never wanted to hurt you. I only want what's best for you, and I think it's the human world."

"I told you, I don't fit in there," I retorted. "I won't go back. I'll help Masuka go back, then I'll stay here."

Haku said, "You should go back and explain to your parents. They might think you've been kidnapped if you suddenly disappear."

"I don't think they'd notice."

"They'd notice," he assured me, soundly oddly certain. He hugged me, and I couldn't resist slipping my arms around him.

"It's hopeless," I muttered. "My parents would never let me stay here. They still think I'm an insane drug addict. The only drugs I've ever had are the ones they've given me. And they're horrible, too. They make my head fuzzy, and I can't think clearly. And they make me throw up."

Haku stroked my head. "Don't worry. I won't let them hurt you anymore."

"You make it sound like you're my bodyguard or something," I responded, smiling. For some reason, I felt oddly sleepy.

"I was the first you met in this world," he reminded me.

"And the only one to make a promise."

"That I kept."

"After nine years." I was really sleepy now. "Why am I so tired?" I asked Haku, yawning.

"Just sleep," he told me.

"But you put a spell on me, so of course I'll sleep." Funny. The thought hadn't occurred to me until I'd voiced it aloud.

"You start work tomorrow, so you can sleep tonight," Haku reassured me. "And I'm not happy about you getting a job," he whispered in my ear. "After all the trouble I went through to get you out of it last time?"

"I would've . . . stayed if . . . I could have," I mumbled, leaning on him. "Don't put . . . spells on me, Haku. It's not . . . nice." I yawned again.

Haku chuckled and picked me up easily, bridal style. I was too tired to really care as he carried me. I vaguely remembered an elevator and hallways and then I laid on a soft bed while Haku tucked me in.

"Sleep well, my little Chihiro," he murmured, and turned to leave.

He was at the door when I whispered, "I love you, Haku." But I don't know if he heard, for he closed the door softly and his footsteps faded away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So not as much as last time, but I really wanted to get this posted, otherwise you guys would have to wait for another three days. Hope you like! Also, what did you think of Haku and Chihiro's reaction to each other? Was it expected? As always, review, review, review! All of you could review ten times, and I wouldn't complain. I mean, my email would explode, but it normally does that anyway. :-)**

**1/3/16 Update: If you like this story, please vote for me in Inkitt's Fandom 3 contest!**


	3. Past and Present

**A/N: And I know I'm being kinda cruel, but hey, at least we're getting somewhere! Aaaand now I completely forget what I was going to say. Oh, yeah! So forgive me if I get anything Japanese-related wrong. Or college-related. Since I'm not in college or Japanese, I have to look everything up. Which is why there aren't many details in those areas. I'm deathly afraid of offending people. Anyway, thanks to everyone who's reviewed! And favorited and followed, but reviews are more important than either of those. So please, don't hate me, and REVIEW. Maybe I'll even give you some fluff if you do!**

* * *

><p>She no longer remained the innocent, helpless girl she'd been nine years ago. The first thing Haku had noticed was the darkening of her eyes. Chihiro's eyes were still the same dark brown, but they seemed weary and not as open as they once were. But how she'd grown into a beautiful young woman! It only made him want to claim her, though he knew she'd never want that.<p>

Her thinness struck him, too. She'd always been skinny, but now she was bony to the point of being underweight. He'd have to make sure she ate well.

She'd mumbled something as he walked out the door, but even with his dragon hearing, he hadn't been able to tell what it was. He didn't really want her to leave, but the spirit world was far more dangerous than she'd come to think. The bath house was actually one of the safest places in the realm. Haku knew that if Chihiro stayed, she'd be forced to learn how spirit ethics differed drastically from mortal ethics. Because spirits were immortal and possessed more power, certain crimes weren't as heinous.

Humans and their short lives. Haku supposed that that was why they bred like rats. They were so much easier to manage when they had kings and queens and valued modesty and purity over all else.

But how could she stay? And how could he let her go again? Loving someone enough to let them go was stupid. If one loved another enough to let them go, did one really love them at all? Why wouldn't one love them enough to fight to stay with them at all costs?

_I could never let her go back to the human world_, Haku realized. _I could never force her back to a place that obviously holds so much unhappiness_. And he knew he hadn't heard the worst. He'd have to find out when she woke.

* * *

><p>When I woke, the morning sun almost blinded me.<p>

"Wake _up_!" someone snapped. "You always sleep in!"

"Five more minutes," I muttered, turning over and burrowing my face in the pillow.

"Sen! Work! Get up!" Another voice joined in the cacophony.

"Ugh," I groaned, sitting up. Two figures came into focus: Rin and Masuka. Work . . . what work? "Crap," I breathed. "What time is it?"

"Time for work," both of them said at the same time, then glared at each other.

I flopped back onto the pillows. "Where's Haku?"

Masuka and Rin glanced at each other, then Rin replied, "He'll be here until Yubaba's done training him, which won't be for awhile."

Nodding, I slipped out of bed and went to change.

"Whoa," I breathed. completely in awe. For some reason, the bath house had a giant library that probably stretched a good twenty feet above me.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked the librarian, an old lady named Ume. "And every book is catalogued in alphabetical order. It took quite a long time, but it was well worth it. Now if I can just manage to catalogue Yubaba's name collection. . . ."

"Do you know how I could find a way back to the human world?" I questioned.

Ume narrowed her eyes. "From what you say, it sounds like you went through an intentionally opened portal. This could be because of two reasons. One, someone wanted you to come to the spirit world. Two, someone opened a portal on the other side of the world, and this was the sister portal. Portals always open in two to keep the universe balanced."

"So I have to open another portal?"

"Well, there is another way. . . ," Ume supplied hesitantly. "Two portals open every quarter of the year. That's the two solstices and the two equinoxes. They open in the center of the spirit world."

"How much power is required to open a portal?" Or what I really wanted to ask: Could someone like Haku open a portal?

After a pause, she answered, "Only powerful bound spirits or witches."

"Bound spirits?" I asked, confused. I'd never heard anyone talk about them.

Ume nodded. "Bound spirits are those bound to land. Take your dragon, Haku, for example." _He's not_ my _dragon_. "He is bound to the Kohaku River. But a spirit like Yubaba is not bound. Witches are not bound spirits. She is a free spirit, although most free spirits aren't witches."

"It sounds like bound spirits are more powerful than free spirits," I extrapolated.

"Bound spirits are generally more powerful because they can use the power from their counterpart, but once they seek power past it, they turn into witches. And a new spirit takes over their territory."

I took a deep breath. "Can Haku open a portal?"

Ume nodded. "Haku is, surprisingly, a very powerful river. This is probably because he gets the run-off from Mount Hakusen, who is his father. And then he flows into to the Sea of Japan, who is his mother."

"Wow," I gasped. "No wonder he's so powerful."

"So yes, he could open a portal. So could Yubaba or Zeniba. Although good luck trying to convince either of them. It takes a lot of effort and could potentially cause dangerous repercussions to the surrounding area and the spirit opening it."

I told her, "Then I just have to wait for the summer solstice and go then."

"You should send a letter so the humans don't do something drastic," Ume suggested.

"How would I send a letter?" I wondered. "If I can send a letter, why not a person?"

Smiling, Ume replied, "Because the wall between the human and spirit world can let through things without souls. Small things. Little things that get lost easily."

_It's still Sunday_, I realized. _If I can get a letter to college and tell them Masuka and I are sick or something, they won't worry. And then we'll have summer break_.

"How will I know which portal to go through?" I asked, remembering that there wouldn't just be one portal.

"You'll know," Ume reassured me.

"Where will I end up?"

She explained, "You have to visualize a place clearly."

"Thank you so much," I said. "You don't know how helpful you've been."

Ume just smiled. "Use the knowledge wisely."

I nodded and almost ran out, eager to tell Masuka.

When I told Masuka she'd have to wait until the solstice to go back to the human world, her expression was a mixture of sadness and happiness. She'd wanted to return sooner, not being a person who adapts well to new environments. To which Rin replied she thought the sooner the better. That hadn't gone over very well.

She and Rin had a love/hate relationship, which was very entertaining. They also argued about who was my _best_ best friend, which got a little annoying, and was funny to watch only until they actually got mad. Then I had to lock them both in closets. I didn't know why, but the closets all had locks. Why would anyone want to lock their closet? It worked though, and fortunately, neither one had figured out how to escape. Yet.

However, she did seem intrigued by the bound/free spirit concept.

"So Haku's pretty powerful, huh?" she mused, looking oddly happy.

"I guess," I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"No, you just want to know whether or not he created that portal."

When I didn't deny it, she smiled knowingly. "Just don't get your hopes up," she advised. "Guys like that don't think much of promises. From what I've heard, he probably promised so you'd feel better. He probably thought you'd forget, anyway. Think it was a dream, maybe?"

"I almost did think it was a dream," I muttered. Masuka knew about my medical past, having been my first friend in high school.

"I wouldn't dwell on it too much," she told me. "Soon I'll be back home and out of your way. And then maybe things will sort themselves out." Masuka was the sort of girl that was wiser than she acted and knew more than she said. If she said that would happen, I trusted it would.

It seemed that most of the workers remembered me, and some of the customers did, too. They all remarked on how tall I'd gotten, how beautiful I was, and how happy they were to see me. It reminded me of family gatherings.

"Hard at work, huh?" asked someone behind me, making me jump. I was on break, so I sat on a balcony with my legs dangling over and a pork bun in my hand.

"Haku." I didn't turn around.

"You don't sound very happy to see me," he commented.

"You piss me off," I threw at him.

"Why?" His voice carried a hint of pain, but I ignored it.

I sighed. "You wait nine years to uphold your promise, you don't even give me a reason, and then you drag me back here and tell me to leave."

"How do you know I put the door there?" he wanted to know.

"Who else would?" I muttered.

Haku answered, "Believe it or not, Chihiro, there are many people in this world who are interested in you."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"You're the only human to wander in twice in eons," he told me.

Sighing, I took a bite of the pork bun. "I still think you put the door there," I grumbled. "And why didn't you come get me sooner?"

Haku shifted, then said, "Spirits are immortal."

"Obviously."

"Time passes more quickly for us."

"That's your reason." Disappointment washed over me. I'd hoped for something better than that. I'd hoped he'd at least had work or something.

"No. War is taxing upon all four sides."

"Four?" I asked, frowning.

"A war between two sides. Then a side that wants a compromise and a side that wants nothing to do with it. Offense, defense, pacifism, and indifference."

"You've been in a war?" I gasped.

Haku exhaled. "No."

Annoyed, I snapped, "You didn't forget about me, and you weren't in a war. How are those reasons? You're just confusing me."

"Chihiro, there are two very powerful spirits preparing for war. Do you think I'd want you here at a time like this?" he let out in a rush.

I sighed, anger forgotten. Why did he have to actually have a good reason? "I guess."

"I don't want you in the middle of a war with no way to defend yourself," Haku explained. "I'd probably be forced to fight and I'd—you know I'd worry."

How could he go from aggravatingly annoying to so darn sweet? "You're impossible," I muttered.

"And you're as stubborn as I remember," he replied affectionately, ruffling my hair. I stuffed the rest of the bun in my mouth and stood, turning to tousle his hair in return. But of course, he was probably about five inches taller than my five-foot-six. Which meant I had to reach up, bringing me a lot closer to him than I'd planned. And his hair felt so silky. The same shade of green and just a little longer than it had been.

"Why did you grow up?" I wondered.

Haku's eyes widened. "I–ah . . . I just–I was ready to grow up."

Tilting my head, I replied, "I don't think so. You're hiding something." He reddened, making me smile. "Tell me," I pleaded, widening my eyes and doing my best to look innocent.

Haku closed his eyes, as if to collect himself. "I told you, I was ready to grow up," he repeated, much more smoothly than before.

"Fine," I muttered. "I have to get back to work anyway." I'd work on him later.

"She didn't give us the big bath! Can you believe it?" Rin exclaimed.

"It used to look so big, but I saw it again, and it's _tiny_!" I observed. "You remember when I accidentally flooded it?"

Nodding, Rin continued, "And the time you helped that stink spirit that wasn't really a stink spirit."

"And going to Zeniba's to help Haku."

"That feels like ages ago," she sighed, mop in one hand.

"Nine years. Hey, do you know how I could get Masuka back to the human world?" I asked. "I can't just leave her here. I mean, it's one thing for me to stay, but I don't know if she could live here."

Rin looked guilty. "Oops. Sorry, Sen. I was so busy being happy you were back that I forgot you're a human. And what do you mean by 'it's one thing for me to stay'?"

"I don't belong in the human world," I proclaimed bluntly. "Masuka does. She has friends and family who love her. My parents stopped loving me a long time ago."

"Sen!" Rin reprimanded. "Never say that. I'm sure your parents love you very much. They probably just have a hard time showing it."

"No," I denied. "I know how they feel about me."

Sighing, Rin muttered something inaudible.

"Do you know what they did?" I demanded. When Rin shook her head, I went on. "They gave me therapy and medication and quarantined me, and for a year or two, I was actually crazy. And then in high school, I missed a few months because I was so depressed from everything that I considered killing myself because there was no point in living anymore. You think they love me? After all this, they still blame me for tarnishing their reputation. The only reason I hung on was so Haku could come back and bring here. The only place I've ever belonged."

Rin eyes were wide by now, and she gasped, hugging me tightly. "Sen! I'm sorry, I never knew! Otherwise, I would've gotten you myself. That idiot dragon! Insensitive reptile!" And here she spewed a few choice words.

I hugged her back, not wanting to relive my past. "Thank you, Rin," I said, interrupting her cursing Haku.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just glad you're okay. From what you say, the human world is a horrible place."

"It isn't. I just never found a happiness in it."

Unbeknownst to me, a certain dragon walked away from the bath we were working on, having heard enough.

* * *

><p>Haku was absolutely, soul-encompassingly livid. Furious. Everyone in the bath house could practically see his aura radiating off him in enraged waves. So as he walked by, every single employee was doing their best to be professional and efficient, while the customers they served were doing their best to remain as low-maintenance and invisible as possible. Their efforts might have been appreciated had Haku not been completely blind to the outside world. So blind, in fact, that he completely missed the door in front of him until he walked right into it, sending a crash throughout the bath house, mixed with a very violent curse.<p>

Throwing it open and slamming it behind him, Haku transformed into dragon form and launched into the air so hard the wooden porch underneath him collapsed. He growled and magicked it back together.

Why hadn't Chihiro told him? Her parents had made her want to kill herself? Those bastards! Had she not trusted him enough to tell him?

_None of this would've happened if you'd gone sooner_, his brain reminded him. He roared, and that part of his brain wisely shut up. But that little doubt kept nagging him. What if he had gone earlier? Was putting Chihiro in the middle of a war better than what she'd gone through? Why hadn't she even told him through the painting or when she'd visited his river? Come to think of it, she'd never mentioned her parents.

Had he destroyed her trust by not seeing her sooner? She probably hated him for waiting so long.

* * *

><p>A crash startled me, making me drop the bucket of soapy water on my foot.<p>

"Ow!" I complained, rubbing my foot. "What was that?"

Rin shrugged. "Could've been anything. Hey, you, what was that crash?" she called to a passing yuna.

Obviously frightened, the yuna said, "Master Haku came by in a rage and . . . walked into a door. I don't know what we did to make him so mad. I should probably get back!" She ran away hurriedly.

I glanced at Rin. "Why was he mad?"

"I don't know," Rin responded, laughing, "but I would've like to see him walk into a door! Ha! That good-for-nothing lizard!"

"Is he okay?" I worried. "Doors hurt."

"You're so funny, Sen! Of course he's okay. He's probably just pissed that his rice was cold or something."

"Would you please excuse us, Rin," Haku forced out from the doorway. She gave him an uneasy smile. He walked forward and grabbed my hand, making me drop my broom.

"Hey! What are you doing with her?" Rin yelled.

"Having a talk," Haku retorted. His aura still showed in purplish-red light.

They shared a glare and seemed to come to an understanding, for Rin nodded. Haku dragged me down the hall, ignoring everyone's stares.

"What are you doing?" I demanded. "Let go!" I struggled, by Haku's grip on my wrist was iron hard. "Stop!" When he didn't, I tried one last tactic. "You're hurting me!"

Immediately, Haku released me. But instead of letting me walk, he picked me up, princess style, and carried me down the hall.

"This is even worse," I muttered. Finally, we arrived in front of Haku's office door. Somehow, we'd gotten there without going up the elevator or up stairs.

When we got inside, Haku set me down and started pacing.

I sighed. "What now? Come to pester me again? I'm supposed to be working. I don't know if you noticed, but Yubaba still owns the bath house, not you. She can still fire me."

Haku rolled his eyes. "She's not going to fire you."

"That's what you think," I contradicted.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you _what_?" I asked, startled by the sudden change of topic.

"What your parents did to you."

Bewildered, I replied, "I did."

"Not what you told Rin," he retorted bitterly.

"You eavesdropped!" I accused.

"Accidentally," he protested. "But that's not the point! The point is that you lied."

"I didn't lie!" Now I felt anger growing. He eavesdropped! How could he sink so low?

"That's still a lie of omission," Haku pointed out.

"You stupid dragon!" I exploded. "Lies of omission are bullshit anyway! When someone asks you a question, it's not like you tell them everything you know about the subject! Besides, I didn't have to tell you anything! Do I have to relive every painful moment of my life for every person here?!"

I saw the hurt in his eyes before he turned away. "You trust Rin more than you trust me."

"Don't be ridiculous. Rin didn't wait nine years to keep a promise. She didn't bring me back here and tell me to leave! She can't—" But here I shut up._ She can't hurt me as much as you can_, I wanted to say.

"I didn't put the door there!" Haku shouted.

I drew back, feeling my heart break into shards that splintered and delivered acute jabs of pain. Eyes wide, face pale, I must've looked like a ghost.

"Chihiro?" Haku whispered, scared and worried.

"You mean you didn't try to see me at all?" I gasped, afraid of the answer.

"Chihiro—" Haku began again, obviously looking to reassure me.

But I was beyond reassurance. "You weren't going to come back for me," I realized.

"I was going to wait until after the war!" Haku cried, reaching for me.

I took another step back. "And how long would that take? Decades? Centuries? Forever?"

"I—"

"No." I shook my head, hands going up to press my temples. "You would've broken your promise. I–I trusted you, Haku. And look where it's gotten me! _I hate you!_" I screamed, backing out the door and turning, running away as fast as I could.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think Haku will do? And do you think Masuka will ever get back to the human world? Please please please review, and I will love you forever!**


	4. Memories Explain Everything

**A/N: So sorry it took so long! My muse deserted me! I tried, but... Anyway, this chapter should explain a lot. And not explain a lot, I suppose. If you ****_review_****, I won't kill off Haku! I also just realized that I haven't put up any disclaimers, so this will be my one and only disclaimer.**

**Thank you to everyone that's reviewed. I'd post their names, but most people only reviewed for one chapter, except for Azaisya. Thank you, Azaisya! I love you sooooo much!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or any of its characters. I mean, if I did, no one would need to write a sequel. The Spirited Away archive would be a lot smaller.**

* * *

><p>Running . . . halls . . . people. . . . Flashes of the bathhouse. Then I came out of it, still running, and found a garden I'd never seen before. A quiet garden, which presumed nothing.<p>

Sobbing, I collapsed on the grass. He was never going to save me from that hell I'd been living! He never intended to, either. The one person I trusted . . . had betrayed me. Masuka's words came back to me. Guys like that don't think much of promises. From what I've heard, he probably promised so you'd feel better. He probably thought you'd forget, anyway. Think it was a dream, maybe?

I laughed helplessly. "How could I forget about you, Haku? How could I think it was a dream? The thing that was the happiest I've ever been? Even if it was a dream, I would've believed. You idiot."

Then I remembered a conversation from when Haku was sick.

"I promise I'll be back, Haku. You can't die," I said.

"What's going on here?" Rin asked.

Kamaji answered, "Don't you see? It's called love."

Love. Even back then I'd loved him, in a way only a child can. And now that my love was full-fledged, my heart thought he'd rejected me.

Staring up at the clouds, I noticed one that seemed almost heart-shaped. What a foolish thing, love. Haku didn't love me. He should've known I wouldn't have cared about a war. How bad could it be?

* * *

><p>He was an idiot. A complete, utter idiot. He should've gone to get her. Haku knew when he promised that he'd have to see her again. He just didn't realize how fast humans aged, so he thought he could wait out the war. Of course, Yubaba willing him the bathhouse made things even crazier, not to mention preparations for the war. Neither side had made a move, though, which was strange. It was like they were waiting for something.<p>

"You bastard!" shouted Rin, walking into his office. "What did you do to her? She came out running and crying like you'd just killed her parents!"

"I want to," he muttered.

"What did you do?" she demanded, lifting him by the collar.

"She knows I didn't make the portal," he confessed. "Now she hates me."

Rin dropped him and began pacing. "She doesn't hate you. She could never hate you; you know that. But you just stepped on her heart, ground it into mush, put it out in the rain for days, burned it, and blew up the ashes. Do you know where she went?"

"Where?" Haku asked hesitantly.

"The Garden of Sorrows."

"Damn it."

* * *

><p>I was done crying. That much I knew. I had no idea what time it was. Yubaba was probably furious, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything. Maybe it would've been better if I'd never gone through the portal. It would've been better if I'd never gone to the Spirit World. Then I'd still not belong, but I'd belong more. I wouldn't yearn for an unattainable place and an unattainable dragon.<p>

If I went back, what would happen? What would Haku do? Even his name caused me pain. But that last second, before I turned away and ran . . . his eyes, they were so full of agony. Those would haunt me.

What if I just left? No, Masuka was still there. I could take her with me, and we could go to the center of the spirit world and wait till the solstice to go back. And I'd want to start over.

There, there, child. It's alright.

"Who's there?" I whispered. The garden around me seemed more mysterious than when I first came in. Trees and bushes swayed in the wind that blew my hair around my face.

Just the garden.

"The . . . garden?" I asked, confused. "How can a garden talk?"

I'm a spirit too, said the low female voice. You ran into my garden. I can talk to you now.

"Then where am I?"

The Garden of Sorrows.

* * *

><p>"The Garden of Sorrows," Rin whispered. "The garden that only appears when someone is in need of comfort. The garden that can also turn one into a monster out for revenge. The garden that can make one crazy with just a few words."<p>

"We have to save her!" Haku declared.

"We can't!" Rin contradicted. "It's up to her to get herself out of this. If we go in, we might get caught, too."

"Argh!" Haku put his head in his hands. "This is all my fault."

"Yup."

* * *

><p>Have no fears, child. The one that wronged you can easily be punished. I can even help, if you want, offered the garden.<p>

I frowned. "I don't want to punish him, though. He did screw up, but everyone does. That doesn't mean he's more wrong than everyone else."

Are you sure? Most people would think he should be punished. It's no fault of yours if you feel that way, too, she assured me.

"Well," I hesitated, "that is tempting, but I'm not really someone who likes violence."

Very well. If you ever need me, Chihiro, I'll be there, the garden promised. Then the grass under me seemed to melt until I dropped into the side garden of the bathhouse. And I was left alone to wonder how she knew my name.

* * *

><p>"Chihiro!" Masuka exclaimed as I walked into our shared room. "What happened? You look awful!"<p>

"You'd look awful if your heart was just broken," I mumbled.

"Your—what?!" she rushed over. "What did that dragon do to you?"

"Nothing," I denied, smiling sadly. "He just told me he never planned to see me again."

Masuka sighed and spat, "That despicable dragon. He's pathetic. I don't know why you wanted to see him again. He's obviously not in his right mind. But something's not right. From what you tell me, it sounds like he loves you. So why would not go back for you? If you ask me, he's hiding something."

"Hiding what?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Sometimes I think you're blind. Anyone can see that the poor lizard's in love with you. So it doesn't make any sense that he wouldn't try to see you again!"

I sighed. "I need to see Granny."

"Granny . . . ?"

Nodding, I explained, "Zeniba told me to call her Granny. I wonder if she knows I'm here. Probably."

Masuka thought for a moment. "Why don't we go see her and see if she can help us get back. The spirit world seems a bit scary, and, you know, I don't really want to go traveling without someone who knows what they're doing and where they're going."

"Okay. I'll go see if Yubaba will let me go. And if I can get tickets."

I walked out, lengthening my stride so as to appear busy. Nobody stopped me, and I arrived at Yubaba's door quickly. The doors opened and I briskly walked in.

"What now?" Yubaba demanded.

I took a deep breath. "I want to see Zeniba to see if she can help get Masuka back to the human world."

"Ah. That is a valid reason, as we can't have two humans stinking up the place," Yubaba mused. "Alright. I'll even give you train tickets. Just bring Haku with you so you have a ride back. And I expect you back within a week. And Chihiro," she paused, "do be careful. With the war and whatnot, you will be in more danger than it appears. Now go! You're wasting my time!"

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, taking the tickets and racing from her office. "Masukaaaaaaaa!"

"What?" she asked, poking her head out.

"We're going to see Granny! We just have to—" That's when I realized what else Yubaba had said. Just bring Haku. . . . "Ugh," I groaned, collapsing on my bed.

"What?" Masuka dared. "Don't tell me—"

"Haku has to come with us," I finished.

"Don't worry about him," Masuka reassured me. "I'll tell him, if you want. And I'll make sure that bastard doesn't get anywhere near you."

"Thank you." I hugged her. "You're a lifesaver, Masuka. I'll go tell Rin and Kamaji."

Masuka nodded, and we parted ways.

* * *

><p>"He what?!" Rin nearly shouted.<p>

"Not so loud!" I snapped. "Yeah, he admitted he didn't make the portal, which means he didn't even try to see me."

Rin's expression wavered, and a dark shadow flitted across her face. "I'd kill him, but you said Yubaba wants him to go with you to see Zeniba?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately."

"To what? What can he do that I can't? I'll go with you!"

Sighing, I pointed out, "You can't turn into a dragon and fly people places."

"Oh." Rin looked very put out. "Fine, but if he makes you cry or hurts you in any way, I will personally skin him and roast him. Roasted newt, roasted lizard. What's the difference?"

Laughing, I hugged her tightly. "I'll let you know if you need to beat him up."

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will." I left to go pack, wondering how I'd survive with Haku.

"Bye!" I called, waving to everyone who'd gathered outside the bathhouse. Masuka, Haku, and I crossed the bridge. Boh and Yu-bird had decided not to come since they'd already been to Zeniba's that month.

I decidedly ignored Haku, even though I suspected it caused him more pain. That was good. He could suffer. I normally wasn't one to hold a grudge, but he'd had it coming for nine years. A week was nothing.

Masuka walked in the middle of us, attempting to strike up a conversation, but I wouldn't talk to Haku. Haku kept trying to talk to me, too, but I stayed silent, and he eventually gave up. I had nothing to say to him.

When we finally got to the train station (the tracks thankfully weren't underwater), Masuka looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Haku looked very pensive. As for me, I just wanted to see Granny and No-Face.

The train roared up the tracks, sending my hair everywhere. Once it stopped, I got on first, followed by Masuka and Haku. The conductor took our tickets and I sat down, making sure Masuka sat in between Haku and me. The silence only intensified as the train sped along.

Masuka was the first to break the silence. "Which stop are we getting off at?"

"The sixth stop," Haku and I said at the same time. I ignored him, and he looked away.

Masuka sighed. "How long are you two going to do this?"

"She's the one who's ignoring me," Haku accused, the torment in his voice hurting me.

He'd just broken my heart. Did he really think I had anything to say? Unable to stop them, tears slipped down my face. Haku moved to get up, but Masuka pushed him back down and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Everything will be alright," she comforted. "You'll see. Everything will sort itself out and we'll all be happy."

I just shook my head and wiped my tears away. "Sixth stop," I whispered, just as the train stopped.

"Come on, Chihiro," Masuka told me, holding my hands.

She led me off the train, and we started walking to Granny's. Haku trailed along, shuffling his feet in an oddly human manner. The lamppost hopped with us until we got to the door, where Masuka knocked.

Granny opened the door, surprise evident on her face. "Chihiro! And Haku, and who is this?"

"I'm Masuka. Nice to meet you," she said, dipping her head.

"I see. Well, come in, no need to stand out there." Zeniba stepped back and closed the door after we all came in. "What brings you here? Is it about returning your friend to the human world?"

I nodded. "Ume said I had to go to the center of the spirit at the solstice."

"Ah, Ume. Yes, that is the only way available," Granny muttered. "I believe Haku should go with you there, too, because he can protect you. Don't look so murderous, Chihiro, nor so hopeless, Haku. I think I know what happened. She found out you didn't try to fulfill your promise, didn't she?"

Haku nodded. "I—"

Granny interrupted, "Come with me, Haku, and let's have a talk." The two walked out of the room. "You two can have some tea and cake," she called back.

"Thank you," Masuka replied. We sat down, Masuka finishing her cake before me.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I wondered quietly.

"I'm sure it's something important." Masuka washed the dishes, obviously needing something to do.

I sat there, sipping my tea. "Maybe."

"Ah ah!" said a voice from the corner of the room.

I turned and saw No-Face materialize. "No-Face!" I cried, running to hug him.

"Ah ah," No-Face answered. "Ah?" He tilted his head.

"Right," I said, smiling. "No-Face, this is Masuka. She's one of my friends from the human world. Masuka, this is No-Face. He's the spirit who helped me in the bathhouse. Well, before he started eating people. But don't worry," I reassured her hastily, noticing the wary expression, "he doesn't eat people anymore. Right, No-Face?"

"Ah!" No-Face cried, sounding very indignant and shaking his head furiously.

"Of course not." Affectionately, smiling at him, I pointed to my hair. "See? I even have the hair tie you made!"

"Ah."

* * *

><p>"Haku," Zeniba began, "you seem very sad. I suppose she didn't take the news well?"<p>

Haku shook his head. "She hates me now. I don't even know why I didn't try! All of my reasons seem like excuses, but they made sense at the time. . . ."

"Hm. I suppose it's time for you to know."

"Now what?" Haku asked, bewildered.

"The reason why—" she started, but was interrupting by a large boom. Immediately, Zeniba's face turned pale. "They've begun," she whispered.

"Begun what?" Haku asked, afraid of the answer.

"The war."

Zeniba raced out of the room, robes billowing. "Girls!" she shouted. "Quickly! Follow me! No-Face, you know what to do."

"Ah!" No-Face responded, nodding and disappearing.

Chihiro, Masuka, and I all followed Zeniba through a door that appeared, down a flight of stairs, and into a dimly lit workroom with all sorts of odd looking potions and bottles and ingredients strewn about.

"Granny, what's happening?" Chihiro asked as another boom sounded, frightened.

"The war has started," Zeniba answered, bustling to and fro, gathering potions and clearing the room. "And unfortunately, this cottage is more or less in the middle of it. Literally."

"Are those . . . bombs?" Masuka's eyes were wide, and her hands clenched unconsciously.

"Yes. No-Face has contacted my sister to let her know what has happened. For the time being, we will have to stay down here until there's a break."

"Just like a bomb shelter," Masuka muttered.

"Not quite," Zeniba contradicted. "This is considerably more comfortable and safe. There are two guest rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a good supply of food and water." No-Face appeared next to her. "Anyways, it's almost dinnertime, so I'll fix something up. Haku, why don't we finish our talk in the kitchen?"

Haku followed her into the kitchen, lit by a few lanterns. "You were saying it's time for me to know the reason why what?"

The witch sighed as she prepared dinner. "The reason why you think you didn't try to see Chihiro." Think? "You see, you actually did try to see her. In fact, you used every means possible. But I looked into the future and saw that if you found out what Chihiro had gone through, the entire human race might have been wiped out in your rage. Of course, that was the worst case scenario, but no one wanted to risk it. So I wiped your memory and put those excuses in, then prevented Chihiro from talking to you about her home life. So you have no reason to feel guilty, Haku. This is really all my fault, but I thought it was for the best. Dragons are very hot-blooded creatures, and there's no telling what they might do if their mates are in danger."

Haku was speechless. He blurted the first thing that came to mind. "She's not my mate!"

Zeniba chuckled. "No, not yet anyhow. But you admit that you think of her that way, no?" When all Haku did was flush, she said, "I thought so."

Haku wanted so badly to protest that he would never wipe out the human race, but he was ashamed to know that in his rage, he had considered killing all the humans to atone for their crimes. Not just mistreating Chihiro, but mistreating the Earth itself. The only thing that had stopped him was what Chihiro would think of him if he did that. And she'd be all alone, too. No one deserved to be the last of their species.

"So I did try to see her?" he asked.

Nodding, Zeniba explained, "You almost went insane, I think. You grew up so you could be stronger. But we also had to prevent you from sacrificing your morals to gain more power."

"Do you think I would've done that?" Haku whispered. "Give up part of myself to see her again?"

"It was close. Too close, for my liking. But I trust you will not do anything of the sort now?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good. Go rejoin the girls," Zeniba ordered.

"Can I tell them?"

"I have a better idea," she conspired mischievously.

* * *

><p>When Haku and Zeniba came back with dinner, Masuka and I had already lit a fire in the large stone fireplace, lit all the iron sconces, dusted the furniture, wiped down the coffee and dinner table, alphabetized the spell catalog (a note on the box read: "Needs alphabetizing. Do not read aloud."), and collapsed on the loveseat in front of the fire.<p>

"My! You two have certainly been busy!" Zeniba exclaimed as she surveyed the room. "You even alphabetized the spell catalog! I've been meaning to do that for decades. . . . Anyways, dinner's ready. And we have some news."

News? Zeniba sat at the head of the table and No-Face at the foot. Masuka and I shared a side to the left of Zeniba, and Haku sat across from us.

"What's the news?" Masuka asked as soon as we began eating.

Granny hesitated. "I'm sure you know what Chihiro's told you, no? About Haku not trying to see Chihiro?" A sword sliced through my heart. Why did she have to bring that up? "Well, that's not the truth." What? "Before we tell you what happened, let me tell you a story. Long ago, there lived two very powerful spirits, Yinaku and Ametsuru. Ametsuru was tired of all his friends dying of old age, so he used his power to make all spirits immortal. However, Yinaku was worried that if spirits were immortal, they would have eternity to cause evil. You see, all spirits are born without morals. Yinaku knew this, so she created a second heart with her magic, one filled with morals and good. So when a spirit is born, Yinaku's helpers, the angels, visit the baby and grant it a second heart. However, if a spirit deeply craves more power, he or she can sacrifice their second heart, and their morals, to gain power. But this can corrupt them and turn them into a monster if they aren't strong enough.

"You see, Chihiro, Haku is one of many who would most likely be turned into a monster if he gave up his second heart. He is too quick to anger." Granny fixed her gaze on me. "When Haku promised, did you doubt he would keep his promise?"

"O–of course not!" I protested.

"He meant to, of course. But it is almost impossible to open a portal unless you are almost as powerful as Yinaku or Ametsuru. Haku is not. He tried everything, but Yubaba and I had to stop him before he went so far as to sacrifice his second heart. We also saw that if Haku was to enter your world and find what your parents had done to you, he might have caused genocide. This was unacceptable, of course, so we had to take measures such as erasing his memory and preventing you from speaking about your home life."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I was standing now, unaware of it. "How do I know you're not telling some elaborate lie?!"

Smiling sadly, Zeniba explained, "I'll show you." By then, we'd all finished eating, so she waved her hand, and the table cleared. "Chihiro, if you hold Haku's hand, you'll be able to see."

Hesitantly, I slide my hand across the table to grasp Haku's larger one. I barely have a chance to notice his gentle hold before a barrage of images pour forth. Haku, in several different libraries. Books, scrolls, paintings, robed figures. A general sense of growing frustration. Shouts of anger. A throne room. Two throne rooms. Risk. Is it worth the risk? That question comes at every angle. Yubaba and Zeniba, mouthing silently. A golden glow that washed everything away. Then flying up, higher and higher until an impact with an iridescent bubble sends waves of gold, purple, blue, green. Failure. One sentence. "We have to lock you up." Chains, blood, agony, an apology from two witches and two silent robed figures with crowns on their head. Fuzzy . . . everything was fuzzy. Confusion. Puzzlement filled with empty reasons. And then . . . nothing.

Gasping, I yanked my hand away and stared at Haku. "What?" I whispered.

Haku's eyes were filled with torment and glazed with remembering. "I tried, Chihiro," he murmured, and in him, I saw the Haku I'd loved so many years ago. This was a different person than who he'd been moments ago. "I couldn't give up. Perhaps it was better I hadn't seen you sooner."

"What's happened is past," I told him. "It's okay if you tried."

"I'm sorry, Chihiro."

I walked around the table, realizing in the back of my mind that Masuka, Zeniba, and No-Face weren't anywhere to be seen. Haku stood, opening his arms, and I stepped into them, feeling that I'd finally come home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I won't actually kill Haku. In my opinion, that would completely defeat the purpose of this fic. No, actually, I might kill him. I'll kill someone. 'Cause I'm just cruel like that. Not telling who! And most likely, it's gonna be more than one person. You can't have a war and not have people die. That's just stupid. REVIEW! It doesn't take that long...**


	5. War Brings Us Closer Together

**A/N: I'm so, sooooooo sorry it took me this long to update! I completely lost inspiration since I haven't planned out the plot, and then school started, and then... Just don't kill me, okay? Otherwise I won't be able to finish this. And you wouldn't want Haku and Chihiro to be stuck dancing around each other forever, would you? Please review, and I promise it won't take me that long to update! Also, I will never give up this story. It's taken too much effort to give up.**

* * *

><p>"They passed the test," a rich, male voice boomed.<p>

"Yes, Master." The servant bowed and left.

"How can it be that a human can do what a spirit can't?" the voice mused.

"He would not just be nice to anybody," pointed out a soft, female voice. "You know as well as I that she would not have been able to enter a second time without believing wholeheartedly."

"How far are we going to take this war?" the male asked, turning to more serious matters.

"As far as we need to. Until she can use her magic."

* * *

><p>"Yubaba told me everything," Masuka admitted, once we were in our room. "She told me not to tell you, but . . . how could I sit back and let you two destroy each other?" She shrugged helplessly. "I had to convince Zeniba to tell you two. You're not mad, are you?"<p>

"No," I reassured her. "It's just . . . he was wrapped in chains and covered in blood. Who would do something like that?"

"From what I've heard," Masuka replied, "is that morals in this world are very different from human morals. It's harder to kill spirits, so more is tolerable."

"I wonder," I mused, "if Haku being locked up has anything to do with the war. Would they really lock him up because he was about to sacrifice his second heart?"

"Who knows."

A knock on the door made us both look up. "Yes?" I called.

"It's me," Haku announced. "I . . . Chihiro, can we talk?" Though we'd forgiven each other, it was kind of awkward. I knew I loved him, but I knew he didn't feel that way.

Masuka and I looked at each other. "What now?" I muttered. Opening the door, I was about to follow Haku out when the room shook, sending me sprawling into him and Masuka on the floor. When everything stopped shaking, I lay on top of Haku with Masuka right next to us.

"Are you okay, Chihiro?" Haku and Masuka asked at the same time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you two?"

"I'm okay," Masuka reassured me, scrambling to her feet and pulling me up. She completely ignored Haku as she dusted me off. "There. Anyway, you should go to sleep. You're getting dark circles."

"I still need to talk to Chihiro!" Haku protested.

"Too bad," Masuka said. "She's going to bed. Now leave, unless you want to see us naked."

Haku turned red and muttered something, escaping from the room as quickly as possible.

"Masuka!" I scolded. "Things here are more formal than in the human world!"

She shrugged. "So? It was the fastest way to get him out. We need to talk."

"Everyone needs to talk to me," I grumbled.

"Well, we're going to be talking about Haku, so it's not like I could've let him stay."

"We are?"

"Yes!" Masuka exclaimed, sitting cross-legged on the bed. "You love him, don't you?"

"I–uh . . . yes," I admitted. "My first love."

"Awwww!" she squealed. "And you waited nine years for him?"

Nodding, I went and sat next to her. "He doesn't return my feelings, though."

Masuka stared at me. Then she laughed. "Very funny."

I glared at her. "I'm not being funny."

"Oh, come on," she complained. "He obviously loves you! Why else would he have tried so hard to see you again? Besides, the way he looks at you . . . it makes me want to melt. I wish someone looked at me like that."

Blushing, I protested, "He doesn't look at me in any special way! I'm probably a burden. And it's not like it would work anyway. He's immortal, and I'm not. And he'd always have to protect me from all the dangers of the spirit world. It's not like I can defend myself against magic."

Masuka hit her forehead. "Love is certainly blind," she muttered, exasperated.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just go to sleep, Chihiro."

"I forgot the letter!" I gasped suddenly.

Clank. Clatter. Groan. The explosion of bombs still shook the basement every once in awhile. "What time is it?" I heard Masuka mutter.

"Too early," I replied groggily.

"Time for breakfast, girls!" came Granny's voice.

We groaned simultaneously.

Once Masuka and I emerged from our bedroom, we found a giant breakfast on the table, and a very grumpy Haku.

"Took you long enough," he mumbled. "Zeniba made me wait for you. How come she gets to eat, and I don't?"

"I'm more important than you," Zeniba called from somewhere in the kitchen.

"How? No, never mind."

Smiling slightly, I sat down and started stuffing myself.

"So, Haku," Masuka began. Uh-oh.

"Yes?"

"How would you treat your girlfriend if you had one?" Blunt as a chopstick.

Haku thought for a moment. "With respect, of course. I'd try to make her happy however I could. I'd be chivalrous. I'd try to respect her privacy."

Masuka nodded like she knew something the rest of us didn't. Which she probably did, given what she'd said earlier about Haku loving me. Which was utter nonsense.

"What's your ideal girl like?" she inquired.

By now, Haku appeared very confused. "Well, nice, of course. Not just to me, but to everybody. And optimistic. Energetic and determined, I think. Not the type to just sit by and watch."

"Interesting." Masuka walked over to him and whispered something in his ear, making him turn red.

"So what?" he snapped.

"So make a move!" she replied.

Haku's ideal girl? Was I anything like that? I didn't think so. Years of depression had left me not-so-optimistic. And as for energetic, I was . . . sometimes.

"Finish up your breakfast!" Zeniba ordered, bustling into the room. "We'll need to leave soon, otherwise there won't be a pause in the bombings. And stop dancing around each other!" What?

Apparently, Haku knew what she was talking about, for he glared at her and muttered something about "interfering witches."

"If I didn't have to interfere it would be even better," Zeniba pointed out. "Do something before someone takes her away!" Were they talking about me?

I finished my breakfast and carried my dishes to the sink, where they washed themselves. As soon as I walked out of the room, I heard Masuka and Haku engage in a whispered argument, though I couldn't tell what they were saying.

When I came back in, they stopped talking immediately. A boom shook the room, making me stumble into Haku's chair. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down to his lap, steadying me as the room shuddered again. When it was clear that there was a break in the bombing, Masuka put her and Haku's dishes in the sink. I just sat on Haku's lap, waiting for him to push me off. He didn't. This was awkward. His arms still around my waist, I tried to stand. His arms didn't relinquish their hold. I tugged again, but to no avail.

"Haku, can you let go?" I asked, blushing slightly at the ridiculousness of the situation. Abruptly, his arms released, sending me sprawling to the floor.

"Chihiro! Are you okay?" Haku exclaimed, standing and picking me up. He set me on my feet, examining me for injuries. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that would happen."

"I'm fine," I told him.

"As much as I hate to interrupt this, we really need to get going," Masuka pointed out from the doorway.

Haku and I jumped away from each other, each avoiding the other's eyes.

"I–interrupt what?" I stammered.

Masuka laughed and said, "Come on, you two."

We followed her, No-Face, and Zeniba up the stairs, where the explosions were louder.

"Masuka and No-Face can ride with me," she explained, "and Chihiro can go on Haku." Zeniba pulled a broom from a nearby closet. "Wait till we're outside to transform, Haku," she instructed.

We all approached the front door cautiously. Granny threw open the door, straddled the broom, waited for Masuka and No-Face to get on, and hovered outside.

"Quickly, now!" she yelled, as something exploded behind her.

Haku slipped outside and transformed. I scurried onto his back, vaguely noticing how much nothing had changed, size-wise. Even his dragon form had grown up.

When Haku launched into the air, I shrieked, grabbing onto his neck. He gave a dragon laugh, making me blush.

"Over here!" Zeniba called.

Just as we flew up to where she hovered with Masuka, a bomb exploded in front of us, making Haku jerk back and me almost fall off.

"Are you okay?!" I cried, wincing as some shrapnel cut my face and arms.

Haku nodded, and i breathed a sigh of relief. But the bombs kept coming, making it hard to see and hard to fly. Zeniba was impossible to see, so I had no idea which way we were supposed to go. Apparently, Haku did, though, because he kept flying through the haze and chaos. It took all my strength to hold on to him, but I managed it somehow. Down. Left. Right. Back.

A bomb exploded near enough to send blinding pain into the back of my skull. Would we ever get out of this? Or would it be too hard for Haku? After all, it couldn't be easy to carry a human on one's back.

A jolt of pain in my leg made me look down, freezing as I saw an arrow sticking out of Haku's side, his blood mixing with my blood where the arrow had grazed my skin.

As if Haku could sense my panic, he gave an extra burst of energy that sent us careening forward until . . . there was nothing. No arrows, no bombs. No smoke. Just blue sky and a forest below. Glancing back, I saw how the war zone abruptly stopped, as if some invisible boundary forced it back. Strange. Masuka, No-Face, and Zeniba were nowhere to be found. I just hoped Haku knew where we were.

Haku flew and flew, somehow able to stay in the air even after all his injuries. Blood covered both of us from head to toe (or head to tail, in Haku's case), and Haku's flight was uneven, wobbling about from exhaustion. I had no idea if we would make it back to the bathhouse, much less land without crashing. Worry made me tense, but I tried not to show it for Haku's sake.

After awhile of this, I noticed the familiar tracks of the train to Granny's house. Relief washed over me, eliciting a sigh of relief. Haku would be alright once we got there. Kamaji would know what to do.

But as soon as I thought it, Haku gave a dangerous lurch, dropping a few feet.

"Haku!" I cried, ignoring the pitch of my stomach.

Haku steadied in the air, but jerked again a few moments later. Would he make it? The bathhouse was in view by now, and we were only a little bit away from Haku's balcony.

Hissing in pain, Haku gave one last push and launched himself at the balcony.

We won't make it, I realized.

With an awful scraping, Haku's body slid over the railing, his head barely missing hitting the deck. Scrambling off his back, I pulled his tail onto the balcony from where it hung off the railing, no momentum left to make it follow the rest of the body.

"Are you okay, Haku?" I asked frantically. "No, stupid question. I'll go get Kamaji!" I raced around him and headed towards the door to his office, but froze when a hand wrapped around my wrist. "Haku?" I whispered, turning slowly.

He lay in human form, still bloody and bruised, but his eyes were just barely open.

"Stay . . ." he mumbled, almost inaudible. "Kamaji . . . knows. . . ."

Smiling in relief, I fell to my knees, too tired to stand. "You look . . . awful," I commented.

"So . . . do you," Haku replied, pulling himself back to he could lean against the railing. Then he pulled me against him, pulling my legs across his so I could curl up against his chest, which I did. Maybe it was the shock, but as I drifted away into blissful numbness, nothing felt awkward.

Groaning, I rolled over and pain flared up. I shot up, gasping, one hand pressed to my side and one over my stomach. Hands forced me back down, but I couldn't see who they belonged to because of the wavering black spots in my vision.

Once the pain stopped, I blinked away the spots and focused on the person in front of me.

"Rin," I whispered hoarsely.

"Lie still, Chihiro," she scolded. "Otherwise you might reopen your wounds."

"What happened to Masuka, Granny, and No-Face?" I asked trepidatiously.

"They made it alright," Rin reassured me.

I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. "And Haku?"

Rin answered hurriedly, "He's alright. In fact, he should be almost healed. Dragons heal faster than humans."

Abruptly, my stomach growled, and I flushed.

"I'll go get some food," Rin said, bustling out of the room.

Now that she was gone, I examined myself. Bandages covered most of my right leg where the arrow had scraped it, a wound in my side I hadn't even realized I'd gotten, both of my arms, and my left foot.

"I'm a mess," I muttered, adjusting the pillows of the bed slightly.

"But you're okay," Haku confirmed from the doorway. "Right?"

I smiled weakly. "I don't think I'll be flying for awhile. Not because of you," I clarified, "but because—"

"I know," Haku interrupted, coming over to my side. He limped slightly and had bandages on almost every part of his body, but he didn't seem to be in pain.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" I asked, concerned. Men were the worst patients. River spirits were apparently even worse.

"I'm fine," he grumbled, settling on the edge of my bed. "But you got hurt."

"Obviously. So what? You did, too."

Haku snorted. "You could get killed far more easily than I."

"But I'm okay. That's all that matters, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"But I couldn't protect you!" Haku exclaimed.

"Who said you had to?" I demanded. "If I got hurt, that's because of the war, not you."

Haku sighed. "Even so, I don't like you getting hurt."

"I don't like it either," I retorted. "And it doesn't bother me. It's not like anyone likes people they care about getting hurt, right?"

Flushing, Haku looked away and ran a hand through his hair.

"Go back to bed," I told him firmly. "Otherwise you won't get better and won't be able to protect me."

"Move over," he muttered.

"What?!" Had I heard him properly?

"I said, 'Move over'," he repeated.

"Why?"

"You want me to get rest, right? I'm too tired to walk back."

"That's your own fault," I reprimanded, but moved over on the bed anyway.

Haku slowly lay down on the bed, grimacing when he moved the wrong way. Now we lay side-by-side, both staring at the ceiling.

I jumped when Haku picked up my hand. "I don't want you to be hurt, Chihiro. I don't want you to stay here and be hurt. But I don't want you to go back to that horrible place and be hurt more. Just promise me that no matter what, you won't try to go off on your own, okay?"

I didn't answer.

Haku let out a breath. "At least promise me that you won't ever let your parents do that to you again, okay?"

"I promise," I whispered. He didn't have to worry; I was never going back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: If you review, I promise there will be fluff in the next chapter. And if you don't review... Haku and Chihiro might get into a fight. Again. I'm not beneath threatening my readers, you know. REVIEW!**


	6. Ceasefire

Yawning, I stretched, flinging my arms out carelessly and—thunk. My right arm hit something solid. I opened my eyes, blinking at the brightness of the morning. Looking to my right, I saw a very sleepy Haku blocking my arm with his. Why was . . . ?

"You could've hurt me, you know," Haku grumbled, lowering his arm.

Blushing madly, I snatched my arm back.

"Don't tell me you forgot I was here!" he exclaimed, pretending to be affronted.

"I won't, then," I replied.

"So cold," he complained. Silence settled into the room, both of us staring at the ceiling.

"I should probably leave," Haku reasoned, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself.

"Probably," I echoed, with even less conviction.

"Otherwise someone will walk in," he guessed.

"Probably," I reiterated.

"And then . . . I don't want to think about it."

"Definitely."

After a moment of silence, Haku asked, "You're sure you want to stay here?" He wasn't talking about my room anymore.

"Where else can I go?" I wasn't talking about my room anymore, either.

"There's no one . . . else back there?" Haku inquired, voice devoid of emotion.

No one . . . else? "If you mean friends, I don't mind leaving Li and Henry. And Sylvia," I replied hesitantly.

"That's not what I meant," Haku said, frustration creeping into his voice. "There's no one special to you back there?"

"No?" If he meant anyone I loved, there was only one person in that category. And he was lying right next to me.

"Oh." Was it just my imagination, or did he sound relieved? "Forgive me for being so nosy."

"It's fine."

With a groan, Haku stretched and rolled onto his side to face me. I faced him, too, and we stared at each other.

"You're so beautiful," Haku commented.

I could only stare at him, shocked. "Eh?"

"I . . ." Haku flushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"So you don't think I'm beautiful?" I asked, slightly hurt.

"No, you are!" Haku assured me. "I just . . . I suppose it's not my place to say that, but . . ." he reddened again. "And I'm sorry for intruding upon you like this. It's improper, and I wasn't quite myself yesterday."

It felt like he was raising a wall between us, a wall I wanted to crack and crumble.

"I—it's fine," I replied. Now miles stretched between us.

Haku levered himself off the bed, wincing a bit. He walked over to the window, drawing the curtains back so light shone in. I cautiously got out of bed, too, grimacing at how sore I was. Dragon riding was not comfortable, to say the least.

"I'll go now. You should have breakfast soon," Haku said, turning towards the door.

Just as he opened the door, I grabbed on to the back of his shirt. Haku froze, then closed the door and faced me.

"Thank you," I murmured, not quite looking at him. "For protecting me. If there's anything I can do in return—"

Before I could finish, Haku hugged me tightly. "Just be yourself," he whispered, kissing my forehead and sweeping out the door.

I touched the place he'd kissed. Men were so confusing. At times, it seemed Haku cared about me. At others, it seemed he didn't. Why couldn't he just make up his mind?

When I came down to have breakfast, I only had time to see a flash of black hair before Masuka careened into me, making me stumble.

"Are you okay, Chihiro?" she asked, fervently checking me over for injuries.

"I'm fine," I reassured her. She had a few scratches here and there, but they looked superficial, so I didn't worry.

"I was so scared!" she cried, burying her head in my shoulder.

"Don't be," I told her. "Haku was with me." _He would protect me_, I realized. He'd said as much earlier. He really did care.

"I suppose," she sniffed. "I don't really trust him, though."

"Thanks," Haku replied, walking into the room with two bowls of rice.

"You _abandoned_ her after making a promise like that!"

"I thought we already sorted that out."

"Whatever. If you harm one hair on her head, I'll skin you," Masuka threatened.

"Masuka!" I exclaimed.

"And I'll make it so you won't ever have children again," Rin added, walking in.

"Why am I surrounded by scary women?" Haku muttered, running a hand through his hair.

I detached myself from Masuka and walked over to a window. Blue sky with no clouds greeted me. How could it be that a war raged and tore spirits apart while nothing had changed in the bathhouse?

In the background, I could hear Rin and Masuka arguing about something, per usual, but I didn't pay them any attention.

What good was it to have a war when it didn't affect everyone? Then the people it didn't affect wouldn't take it seriously. _Reality always seems so far away_, I thought.

"Overthinking much?" Haku said, suddenly behind me.

"Maybe."

"Don't wear yourself out," he advised.

Sighing, I faced him. "Why did there have to be a war when I finally got back to the spirit world? And I still need to get Masuka back to the human world."

"True, the solstice is coming up," Haku observed.

"When is it, exactly?"

"In . . . three weeks, I think," he told me. "That's plenty of time to get to the portal. At least, it would be without the war. The war is currently being fought around the center of the world. Zeniba's house isn't far from it, which is why there were bombings. That's just the outskirts, though," Haku explained with a grimace. "The center of the spirit world is in the middle of a labyrinth, and the war around it is so intense that you'd probably be vaporized even before you got to it."

"_Vaporized?!_" I exclaimed, horrified.

"Well, magic is the most efficient way for spirits to fight, so there's a lot of vaporization. Even when a spirit is physically wounded, it doesn't affect their magic. The magical body and the physical body are two different things."

"How am I supposed to get to the center, then?" I asked, putting my head in my hands. "I don't have magic. I can't defend myself."

"Zeniba and I will have to go with you," Haku said. "But I don't know if that will be enough."

"We have to try."

"Yes. We'll try."

* * *

><p>"They have admirable courage, Ametsuru. I see not why you dislike the human so."<p>

"She disrupts the balance, Yinaku," Ametsuru boomed in his gravelly voice. "Humans are not meant to live with spirits."

"What is the point of being immortal, then? If we are stagnant in our age and nothing changes?" Yinaku challenged, her clear voice echoing through the great hall. "Is it not the same as death?"

"Still, I do not like it. Let us make a wager. If the human can find her magic and get to the portal, I will let her stay."

"Ametsuru!" Yinaku snapped. "_If?_ There is no way the human can get through the vaporization walls you have set up even with magic! Even the river spirit would not be able to get through them!"

"There is a way. You, of all spirits, should know it. The river spirit must give up part of his spirit heart. Perhaps he will lose some of his morals, perhaps not. But that is the only way the human can survive."

"It is dangerous," Yinaku warned. "They will most likely die."

"If — _if_ — they die, it will mean that they were never meant to be together in the first place," Ametsuru stated calmly. "And if they do not die, well, we shall see what happens."

* * *

><p>When night finally came, I was so glad to go back to my room. As I rounded the corner and reached the door of the bedroom I shared with Masuka, I heard her voice.<p>

"Yes, I know," she said. Who was she talking to? "I'll make sure she gets there." Huh? "Yes. Don't worry about me. I know. Even if it costs me everything, I will do it." _What?!_ "Yes. Thank you. Bye."

I crept in silently, but Masuka was the only one in the room. "Masuka?"

Masuka jumped and turned to face me. "Chihiro! Are you going to go to bed soon?"

"Yes. I'm exhausted and I hurt," I complained, deciding to forget about Masuka talking to nobody. I'd seen weirder things. She was probably making a phone call. Assuming phones worked in the spirit world, which I didn't know because I'd left my phone in my car . . .

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Masuka reprimanded, crossing her arms. "You're injured and you stayed up this late!"

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

Masuka ordered, "Now go to sleep, otherwise Haku will worry."

Complacently, I readied myself for bed, turning off the lights and slipping under the blanket. "Do you think we'll make it to the portal, Masuka?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course," she replied assuredly. "Don't worry. Not even a war can stop us."

"You're right, I suppose."

"Of course I'm right," Masuka sniffed. "I'm always right. Never forget that."

That night, the clouds covered the moon and stars. The wind whipped around the spirit world, and almost seemed to argue with itself.

* * *

><p><strong>Five Days Later<strong>

"Chihiro, wake up!" Masuka exclaimed, making me groan.

"I know, I know," I mumbled. "I'll be up in five."

"You don't understand! The war has stopped!"

_What?_

For the past five days, the war had spread even to the bathhouse, where business ceased and customers had hurried home lest they be stuck there. Flaming arrows, poison arrows, ice arrows, all sorts of arrows flew. Bombs struck the ground around the bathhouse and bounced around the protective bubble Yubaba had erected. For the first time, Masuka and I caught a glimpse, then more than a glimpse, of the "soldiers" who fought the war. They were awful.

Farmers, merchants, all sorts of spirits had joined in this brutal war. Limbs went flying, and every time a head hit the barrier (which was only twenty feet away from the bathhouse's outer wall), I cringed. Though harming a spirit's physical body didn't harm its magical one, it certainly disrupted concentration, resulting in an enemy's advantage. And, like humans, a spirit missing a head was not really a spirit at all.

The one answer I wanted kept evading me, though. _What were spirits fighting about?_ No one knew. Not Haku, not Rin, not Kamaji. When I asked Yubaba, she said, "Aren't all wars about the same thing? Power?" and left it at that. I even went back to the library and asked Ume, but she claimed not to know. I suspected she was lying, but I didn't say anything. It wasn't even really my business since I wasn't a spirit.

Haku looked worried all the time now. Everytime he passed a window, he glanced outside anxiously. It made me worry endlessly, too, that he should be this worried. How often did spirits have wars? Were they usually this harsh? It frustrated me to no end that no one had, or was willing to disclose, any information on this war.

"Come on, Chihiro!" Masuka demanded, but I was already out of bed and getting dressed.

"In the closet, there are two sacks. Get them," I instructed, putting on the clothes I'd brought from the human world, which I'd retrieved from the soot balls earlier.

"What are these?" Masuka asked, holding up both sacks. One was a nondescript drawstring bag I'd filled with nonperishable food, water, and the like, and the other was bigger, filled with sleeping bags (at least, the spirit world equivalent).

"Stuff for the trip. I've had the essentials bag for days. And I did _not_ pack any books, mind you."

"Books?"

"Haku. We need to find Haku." I opened the door and found Haku outside, poised to knock.

"The war—" we began at the same time.

I cracked a smile. "We should be going. Who knows when it will start again."

"My thoughts exactly." Haku sighed. "I suppose we'll have to wait for Rin."

"What'd I miss?" Rin demanded, skidding to a halt next to Haku.

"Nothing," I told her. "We need to try to get to the portal though."

"Right. That'll be easy." Rin led us down the hall, not stopping to talk to anybody.

"What about—" I started to ask.

"I already received Yubaba's permission," Rin said. "She lent us some supplies, too, can you believe it? Although what she gave us is kind of weird, but I won't complain."

Our little group made it through the bathhouse uninterrupted until we reached the bridge.

There Yubaba stood, just on the bathhouse side of the bridge. "I won't say good luck," she decided, "but I will say this: when in doubt, remember the red threads. Fate is the only true contender in the competition of life. Now shoo, before the war starts again and I have to clean up your goo."

"Thank you, Yubaba," I said, bowing. "I won't fail! Hopefully . . ."

With that inspiring parting, we bid goodbye to the bathhouse and the various residents not brave enough to venture outside, but daring enough to stand by the windows and wave.

I only hoped I made it back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry again for the long wait. Updates will now be infrequent, but I'll try my best to write when I can. Note to self: never again make up a story as you go along again. Doesn't work. Thanks for your patience, and REVIEW! It will make me way more motivated to update the next chapter quickly. Which, believe me, I need.**


	7. Confessions

The first few steps outside the bathhouse's protective shield, I kept expecting something to blow up. Fortunately, that didn't happen. All of us seemed a little tense as we ventured forth to . . . I had no idea.

The irony of such a beautiful day hit me just as the pressure of my quest weighed down on me.

"Where's the center of the spirit world, again?" I asked. "I have absolutely no idea where we're going."

Rin and Haku looked at each other. "Well," Rin began helpfully, "it's at the center." Haku nodded in agreement.

I couldn't help it. I facepalmed. "You mean you don't know where it is?"

Haku grimaced. "It's not exactly a well-traveled place, seeing as no one actually wants to go to the human world."

Sighing, I looked out across the horizon, squinting at the sun and realizing we had a long way to go. And we were only twenty feet from the bridge. Then it hit me.

"Can't we follow the sun?" I asked. "It rises in the east and sets in the west, right?"

"Of course. The problem is that the sun looks the same distance away no matter where you are," Rin pointed out.

"I know!" Haku exclaimed. "I just remembered, on all the maps there's a place called Sun's Birth all the way to the east and a place called Sun's House in the west. If we go in the middle, wouldn't that be the center?"

"But what about the north and south axis?" Masuka interrupted.

"There's a road that goes right through the center, I think," Rin said. "It does go through some shady areas, but I think we should be fine on that."

"And where exactly is this road?" I inquired.

"I think I've heard of it," Haku volunteered. "It's just northwest of here. Only twenty-five miles, I think."

"That's not that far," I mused.

Masuka replied, "On foot?"

"Oh."

"It's only a two day walk," Haku supplied. "We'll have two weeks left after that."

"It's not like we have a better option," Rin pointed out. With that, she started walking northwest, and the rest of us followed suit.

As we walked I wondered aloud. "All of this seems terribly convenient. There just happens to be a road that goes through the center of the spirit world?"

Then Masuka replied, "Don't question it, just go with it."

* * *

><p>The spirit world, since spirit's didn't have much in the way of technology, was much like the Japanese countryside. Forests surrounded us, with the occasional road or shrine popping up. It was peaceful, and for once I was distracted from the potential dangers of the spirit world.<p>

As I enjoyed the country, Rin lagged behind with Haku.

"She's like she's ten again, isn't she?" Rin quietly asked Haku, nodding towards me. "Full of energy and smiles. You can't deny she belongs here."

Haku smiled bittersweetly. "If there was a way to keep her here, I would take it. If there was a way we could go back to those days . . ."

"But the fact is, she's not ten anymore. And you know just as well as I that as humans get older, they start breaking down."

Haku nodded.

"You need to make the most of your time together since you don't know when you'll part. This journey could end in failure. I don't want her regretting her time here nor you regretting you didn't make a move sooner. Get over your shyness," Rin ordered.

Haku stared at her. "Where is this coming from?"

Smiling sadly, Rin explained, "There was a story, a long time ago. A story about a human and a spirit who fell in love on the top of a mountain. . . .

* * *

><p>Long ago, a little boy played in the village shrine. His father was away on trading business, and his mother worked in the family shop. He had no friends, but he was not lonely. For in the shrine there lived a young girl who would come and play with him. She was not from the village, but that did not matter. She was his friend.<p>

The two would play until dark, then the little boy would return to his home. The next day would come and they would play together again.

The boy continued to meet this mysterious girl until he was old enough to join his father in his trading business. He promised he would visit whenever he could.

So the two met whenever they could, and before long, love blossomed. In the beginning of spring, when the sakura trees were only budding, the boy, now a young man, confessed his love to the girl, now a young woman. The young woman replied in kind, and the young man's happiness was complete.

But soon his father wished to betroth him to another girl from another town. The young man, was distraught, and he wished to bring the young woman to meet his father. However, she could not go into the village, bound by an oath. Eventually, his father married him off.

On the day of his wedding ceremony, the young man traveled to the shrine and prayed to the shrine, wishing that the girl would find happiness. Not having much money, he presented a budding sakura flower as an offering. As he prayed he felt a presence behind him. The young woman stood behind him, her face streaked with silent tears. She understood the young man's pain and why they could not marry, but still she wept. As the young man held her, she told him a secret. She was actually a spirit from the spirit world.

The young man replied that he'd love her no matter who she was. The two embraced until the young man had to leave. He'd visit, he said. He'd never forget his first love, even if it was not meant to be.

They separated, but the young spirit never saw the young man again, for the portals between the spirit world closed. Each wondered how the other fared and how their fate might've been different had they been one race.

* * *

><p>Haku was silent for several minutes. "Was that spirit in the story you?" he finally asked.<p>

Rin looked at him in surprise. "No. Well, probably not. I mean, I wouldn't know since Yubaba stole my memories."

"She hasn't given anyone their name back?"

"Nope. She says we should find our own way back to our memories. I don't know how that will happen, though." Rin sighed.

"So it's hard for spirits and humans to be together because their lives are different?" Haku inferred.

"Yes. At least, that's what the legends say. There have been many times where spirits and humans have loved each other, but it never works out. You should act now before it's too late," Rin advised.

Haku sighed. "I will. I just hope she feels the same."

Rin smiled knowingly.

* * *

><p>Two days later, we finally reached the road. A wooden arch marked it, looming portentously against the cheerful background of clear blue sky.<p>

"This is it," Rin said.

"Yeah. There's no turning back," I replied. "But . . . what's that? Is that a mountain?"

"Yes. Why?" Haku asked.

"It sort of looks like Mt. Fuji," I observed.

"You're right!" Masuka exclaimed.

"Weird . . . I wonder if that's the center of the spirit world?"

"I feel like that would be too easy," Haku remarked.

For some reason, the mountain sparked a sense of deja vu. Here I was, taking a journey into unknown territory with nothing to claim as my own. Nothing except my love for Haku. And I only had a vague sense of purpose. What exactly would happen once we got to the portal? If we got to the portal?

Overhead, some sort of bird cried out as it flew by, its enormous wing span causing my hair to ruffle. Spirit butterflies flew past, at certain angles partially translucent. Trees draped themselves over each other, branches narrowing and sweeping the mossy ground.

Could this ever be in the human world? Could I ever find this kind of peace? Everything important to me was here. Did it matter that I'd be leaving friends behind? How much was love really worth?

"Chihiro."

I blinked, noticing that Haku was looking at me with a pensive expression.

"Eh?"

"I . . . Can I talk to you?"

I nodded and we let the others walk ahead until they were out of earshot. However, both of us missed the glances Rin and Masuka shot each other as they went ahead.

"I think you deserve an explanation," Haku told me. "For . . . everything."

I nodded, not looking at him. At this point, it was impossible not to act like I didn't care what he did.

Haku took a deep breath, then ran his hand through his hair, a habit I'd begun to notice since I'd gotten here. I wondered when it had started.

Haku opened his mouth and began to speak quietly. "The spirit world is a dead place. As much as it pretends to be alive with its colors and snares, spirits have long since forgotten what it means to live. Have you heard about the spirit Ametsuru?" I nodded and he continued. "I wasn't born when he made spirits immortal, but I know some spirits that were, and none of them see any point in living anymore. It's too stagnant, this world. Nothing ever changes. This . . . this is not a place I want you to live, Chihiro, but I know you dislike the human world. I just want you to be happy, somehow. I—" he paused. "No one knows what this war is about, only that it is being fought. It is the first big change that has happened in as long as I can remember, and it scares me. But . . . what's worse is that the war started right after you left, Chihiro. You have changed the spirit world for better or worse. In the span of nine years, a war has begun over the entire spirit world. That is not something that ever happens. I just don't want you to be hurt, Chihiro. Forgive me for being so cold and cruel. I just wouldn't be able to bear the thought of you hurt, or angry at me for keeping you here, or—"

"Haku, it's okay." I smiled gently, grasping his hands. The torment in his eyes, I could see it. I didn't want it to be there. "I want to be here. I don't care if there's a war. I don't care if I'm hurt. There are people here that I don't want to leave behind. Even though I wasn't born here, there must have been a reason to why I was led here. Besides, I . . . I can't leave you."

"What do you mean?" Haku whispered, clearly confused, but perhaps, hopeful as well?

Tears gathered in my eyes. "When I thought that you hadn't tried to see me at all, that hurt so much. I almost went back to that place, the place the Garden of Sorrows offered to take me."

"Chihiro . . ." Haku's arms drew me into his chest. "I'm sorry. I tried everything. Every ancient scroll, every forbidden spell, everything . . . and yet I was unable to do it. I can only beg for your forgiveness. To not be able to come back here . . . I should have tried harder for your sake."

"You don't understand," I muttered. "It's not really here that I craved, it was you."

"Me?" Haku repeated, searching my eyes.

"I love you," I whispered, burying my face into his robes so I wouldn't have to look at him.

"What?"

"I love you," I repeated as I felt Haku's hands left my chin up, his glossy green hair brushing my cheeks. "I don't want to leave you. It's — you were the only thing keeping me alive for nine years. Without the hope you would come back for me, I would have killed myself a long time ago."

"Chihiro . . ." Haku stroked my cheek. "I never knew you felt that way. I . . . never knew you would remember me so well either. I . . . about you . . . nine years ago when you left I knew I would remember you, the human girl who changed everything in my life, but I never thought you would love me, too."

"Too?" I asked, hardly daring to hope.

Haku's face flushed. "I . . . about you, I . . . as I thought, Chihiro is the one I love the most."

"Truly?" I smiled ecstatically.

"I love you, Chihiro." Haku leaned in closer, sliding one hand behind my head and the other around my waist. "Is it . . . is it alright if I kiss you?"

"Yes," I whispered, unable to take my gaze from his.

Haku's face drew nearer until our lips almost touched. Then —

"_Down_!" Rin cried, tackling both of us as something leapt over us with a growl. "Sorry, kids, playtime's over.

Haku scrambled to his feet, pulling me up with him as we faced the narrowed eyes of a clearly malevolent spirit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about that. Quite honestly, this entire chapter was on a whim, but I finally updated! My summer was very crazy but for some reason, high school is less crazy! Who knows? My unofficial hiatus is over, so I'll try to post more regularly. And fluff! Was fun to write! If you all review, I promise you more fluff next chapter. If you don't review, Haku and Chihiro might never get their kiss! And I would do that. I'm not a nice person. ;-)**


End file.
